Functional Medicine thinks of the human being as part of a whole and recognizes health is directly related to the environment. It is an evolution of the usual practice of the medical professional, where this focus is on the human being and not just on the symptoms.
The functional medicine approach is systemic, seeks to achieve a constant interaction between the individual and the medical specialist, to discover the possible causes that led to the disease.
In the current century, health needs require avoiding expensive treatments and surgeries. People are getting used to living with chronic diseases, which reduce the vitality of the individual over time.
Functional medicine is a valuable, preventive medical alternative that recognizes the patient, through his social environment, his habits, his family background, his physiology, his genetics, and even how he thinks and reacts to different circumstances.
Functional medicine raises a very close relationship between the medical professional and his patient. It considers the totality of being, that is, the interaction of the body, mind and spirit, as well as the external environment that surrounds the individual.
There is a series of principles that govern the practice of Functional Medicine, which we mention below:
- Care and patient care and not just the cure of the disease
- Providing prolonged vitality
- Recognition that each individual has a unique and own metabolism
(biochemical individuality) - Dynamic integration between internal and external factors that define the
functioning and health of the individual (physiology and genetics vs.
environmental factors) - Promote in the population not only the longest life but also the life time in
optimal health conditions
Functional medicine is a holistic specialty that considers patients internally and externally to restore health, functionality, and prolonged vitality. It may be that the cause of the current health condition of the individual is hidden in the body. It can be in what you eat, in your genetics, in your lifestyle, etc. If the conversation and empathy do not occur between the physician and the patient, it is very difficult for healing to occur. This is functional medicine.
Diseases that can be addressed with these techniques include:
- Alterations of blood pressure
- Allergies
- Sleep disorders
- Bipolar disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
- The attention deficit, autism
- Diseases of the digestive tract
- Type 2 diabetes
- Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, lupus
- Adrenal imbalances
- Chronic pain such as fibromyalgia
- Slow metabolism
